PRESENTATION OF MARY

In addition to Christmas, the Annunciation and the Dormition, the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos is one of the four greatest Mariological feasts in the liturgical calendar of the Orthodox Church. Except for the Annunciation, the content of the celebrated events from the life of Mary was taken from ancient texts inscribed with the names of the Apostles, but not included in the Holy Scriptures, and therefore called apocrypha. Thus, the Entry into the Temple is described in detail in the so-called Proto-Gospel of James.

According to this text, the parents of the Blessed Virgin, in gratitude for her birth, made a vow to dedicate Her to God. It is this initiation event that is remembered on the Day of Presentation. According to Tradition, Mary was brought to the Jerusalem Temple at the age of three. Moreover, this event itself was accompanied by signs and great manifestations of glory. The description of the Introduction in the Protoevangelium and in liturgical books is distinguished by an amazing wealth of semantics.

At the same time, it indicates that the authors of these narratives, being rooted in the tradition of veneration of the Theotokos, did not pursue the goal of restoring history, but the theological justification of her church glory. In this sense, the chants of the Feast represent a kind of manual on ancient Orthodox Mariology.

From the perspective of the history of the biblical people of God, the Presentation of the Virgin Mary also means Farewell to the Temple. Less than a century after this event, the Temple was destroyed by the Romans and, according to Scripture, will never be rebuilt (cf. Matt. 24:2). The Mother of God herself and all believers in Christ the Son of God became the true temple of God (1 Cor.3,16).